Machine for drying and fluffing flatwork laundry



M. TROY April 1, 1952 MACHINE FOR DRYING AND FLUFFING FLATWORK LAUNDRY 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed July 11. 1947 INVENTOR.

April 1, 1952 M. TROY 2,591,321

MACHINE FOR DRYING AND FLUFFING FLAIWORK LAUNDRY Filed July 11, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN V EN TOR.

MM 2: ,9 may HT' WRIVEYJ Patented Apr. 1,, 1952 MACHINE FOB, DRYING AND FLUFFING FLATWORK LAUNDRY Max Troy, New York, N. Y.

Application July 11, 1947, Serial No. 760,476

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a machine for drying and flufiing laundry articles such as diapers, hand towels, dish towels, turkish towels and the like, after they have been washed and centrifuged, and delivering them to a station in condition ready for folding and packaging, the said invention constituting an improvement on the machine disclosed in my co-pending application SerialNo. 756,835, filed June 25, 1947, now abandoned.

In commercial laundry practice several methods of procedure are now in vogue with respect to drying damp, flat laundry articles of relatively small size. These methods may be briefly described as follows: (1) the damp, flat work laundry such as diapers, hand towels, dish towels, etc, after they have been Washed and centrifuged are manually fed through a plurality of mangles or pressing rolls in succession; (2) the damp articles are tumbled in large drums in an atmosphere of hot air; and (3) the damp articles are passed through a heated chamber in suspended condition either on rods or by pins or clips. Each of the foregoing methods has its drawbacks and objections. For example, the articles, when dried according to method (1) outlined above, require that the articles be passed through a series of mangles, and when so dried and pressed they have an objectionably hard or stifi finish. The articles, when dried according to method (2) outlined above will have a much softer finish than those dried according to method (1) but the tumbled articles, when delivered from the drums are in so ruffled or balled condition as to necessitate the expenditure of considerable manual labor and time in the flattening out thereof preparatory to folding and packaging them. The articles, when dried in accordance with method (3) outlined above, will contain many wrinkles and are not fluffy. Moreover, all of the aforementioned methods consume considerable time and labor and hence are costly in operation.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a laundry machine for treating flat work laundry after such flat work has been chine of the character described which is adapted for continuous operation and wherein the damp articles may be fed to a machine in a continuous manner at one place and delivered from the machine at another place in a fresh, dry, soft and substantially wrinkleless condition ready for folding and packaging. A still further object is to accomplish the drying and flufiing in considerably less time and with the expenditure of less manual labor than has been heretofore required. A still further object is to provide a machine of the character described which will occupy a relatively small, amount of floor space in a laundry.

The foregoing and other objects of my invention not specifically enumerated I accomplish by providing a laundry machine to which the articles, after being washed and centrifuged in accordance with conventional practice, are conveyed and charged, which machine preferably consists of a housing having therein a plurality of rotatable open-ended foraminated drums mounted at difierent levels above the base, each dlllll'l. being equipped with inwardly extending ribs and having extending therethrough an in dependently rotatable perforated shaft provided with longitudinally extending yieldable but substantially stiff vanes, the rotation of the drums and vanes operating to tumble, beat and convey the articles from the receiving to the discharging end of each drum, from which the articles are discharged onto guides for conveying the articles into the next lower arranged drum so as to provide a continuous automatic passage of the articles through the successive drums until discharged from the lowermost drum onto a conveyor, from which the articles may be removed, folded and packaged. The housing containing the drums is preferably formed with insulated walls and heated air is continuously blown into the housing and operates to dry the articles as they are tumbled, beaten and conveyed through the drums, and the vapor generated in the drying operation is withdrawn through the hollow shafts extending through the drums. The eX terior of the drums is also preferably provided with external vanes adapted to promote the circulation of the heated air received within the housing. The invention also embodies other features of novelty which will be hereinafter more fully described and better understood from the detailed description which follows,-when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention as viewed when a side wall or th housing is removed, certain additional parts of the machine being broken away to better illustrate the construction thereof.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the broken line 2--2 of Fig. 1 with a part of the end wall broken away to better illustrate the supporting and driving means for the drums and hollow, shaft-like members.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through one of the drums: and 'hollowshaft assemblies.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the ribs within the drums.

Figs. 5 and 6 are sections taken substantially along the planes of the lines 5-5 and 66, respectively, of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, in the various figures of which the same reference numeralsare used to designate corresponding parts, thenumeral ID indicates a housing of desired form and dimensions to contain a plurality of open-ended foraminated drums II, I2 and I3, and through which extend rotatable hollow shafts I4, I5 and I 6-, respectively.

The housing It) is of elongate, substantially rectangular cross-section which may be partially truncated, as shown at IT, and is preferably formed with double walls, the spaces between which arefilled with suitable insulating material (not shown). Adjacent one end of the housing at thetop-thereof it is formed with an opening Illasurmounted by an upwardly extending coinpartment I8 having an open end I9 through whichextendsa conveyor belt trained overa I ulleyZI whichv is suitably iournaled within the compartment. 'Near the bottom of the housing, an end wall'thereof is partially-cut away to admit therethrougha conveyor belt 22 trained over a pulley 23 mounted within the housing, the said conveyor belt being disposed below the discharge end of the lowermost drum I3 within the housing. Also mounted'or associated with the housing at a convenient location in relation thereto and preferably'in proximity to the bottom ofone of the side walls thereof are a plurality of heatin units 24 and fans'25 adapted toblow heated air into the housing. These heating units and fans may be of any-preferred type and construction and, per se, form no part of the present invention.

The drums II, I2 and Bare of similar construction and each consists of a cylindrical foraminated wall preferably formed of heavy gaugewire mesh having mounted on its exterior adjacent :the ends thereof, circumferentially flanged tracks ZG-supported on pairs of rollers 21 whicha-re mounted in bearings 28 supported ;on thehorizontal components 29 of skeleton frameworks, indicated generally by the reference character- 30. As shown in the drawings, the three drums II, I2 and I3 are disposed at different heights above the base of the-housing, with ad-- 32 .being trained over a driving pulley 35 carriedby a speed reducer 36 which is dependingly mounted on the ceiling or top wall of the housing and is directly coupled to a driving motor 31 mounted on the exterior of said wall or ceiling, the driving belts 33 and 34 being trained over channelrings 3I on the drums I I and I3. It will thus beseen thatthe drum I2 is adapted to be directly-driven and that, inturn, drums H and I3 4 are driven from the drum I2 through the driving belts or the like 33 and 34, respectively. Each of the drums II, I2 and I3 is provided on its internal peripheral surface with a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 33 which may be secured to the wire mesh of the drum in any desired manner. Preferably, the ribs 38 are of tapered or triangular cross-section with a larger taper angle 39- at the receiving end of "the drum and a smaller taper angle 39 at the discharge end of the drum. Also, the depth of the rib is greater at-the receiving end of the drum and tapers to a narrower depth atthe discharge end of the drum, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 4. Because of the longitudinal taper or difference in angularity of taper of the ribs 38, or both, from the receiving to'the discharge ends of the drum I have found that said ribs produce a conveying action of the laundry articles through the drum as it is rotated and thus renders it unnecessary to mount the drums on axes inclined to the horizontal, as disclosed in my aforementioned application. The drums II, I2 and I3 may also be provided on their exterior surfaces with longitudinally-extending vanes 40 to promote circulation of the heated air which is charged into the housing- It by the fans 25.

The hollow shafts I4, I5 and I6 are rotatably supported in bearings M which are hereirrshown as mounted on horizontally disposed channel members 42 secured in any suitable manner to the oppostie' ends of the housing. Each of the hollow shafts I4, I-5-and I6 .carries a pair of diametricalfins .or vanes 43 formed of-suitable yieldable. but relatively stiff material extending longitudinally of the shafts and of a length approximately equal to the length of the drums within which they are disposed. Said fins or vanes may be mounted on the shafts in any desirable manner and, as herein shown, are each supported between a pair of angle members 44 which are socured to the shafts. The hollow shafts are also each formed with a plurality of openings 45 disposed both circumferentially and longitudinally of the shaft at suitably spaced distances apart, for a purpose which will presently appear.

The hollow shafts at one end, the left hand end shown in the drawings, are preferably closed by any suitable means and the opposite ends of said shafts are rotatably coupled in aleak-tight manner through fixed coupling members 46 to tubular extensions 41 of a manifold 48, for a purpose which will presently appear. Each of the hollow shafts is mountedfor rotation-in either the same i or an opposite direction to that in which. the

For guiding the laundry articles charged intothe compartment I8 by the conveyor belt 20 into the charging end of the uppermost drum II is a guide or trough 51 which is fixedly mounted within the housing and has its lower end extending into the open end of said drum in close proximity to the inner periphery thereof. For

guiding thelaundry articles from the opposite or discharge end of the drum II into the receiving end of drum l2 there is provided a somewhat analogous guide or trough 58 having an upper portion 59 extending around the exterior of the open end of the drum II and a lower portion 60 extending within the open end of the drum l2. Another guide or trough 58 similar in all respects to the one just described is provided for conveying the laundry material from the discharge end of drum 12 into the receiving end of drum l3. At the discharge end of drum 13 there is a trough Bl for guiding the laundry articles discharged from said drum onto the conveyor belt 22.

Operation-The drums l I, I2 and I3 and shafts l4, l5 and I6 are driven by their respective driving means while heated air is being blown into the housing and exhaust is applied to the manifold 48. When using the machine for drying and fluffing fiat laundry articles such as diapers which require that they be in a soft fiuffy condition, the diapers, after being washed and centrifuged in the conventional manner, are delivered to the machine by the conveyor belt 20 through the compartment 18, opening 18a, and guide trough 51 into the rotating drum II, within which is rotating in either the same or an opposite direction and at a much higher rate of speed, the finned, hollow shaft 14. The damp diapers, which are initially in a bailed, compacted condition, are thereupon subjected by the rotations of the drum and finned shaft to a .tumbling and beating action which operates to unball and open up the folds in the diapers. While this tumbling and beating action is going on, the diapers are being progressively carried from the receiving end of the drum to the discharge end thereof due to the tapered form of the ribs 38 within the drum and are in due time discharged onto the guide or trough 58, from which they are conveyed through the action of gravity into the receiving end of the drum I 2, in which the diapers are again subjected to the tumbling, beating and conveying action and, in turn, discharged therefrom and received in the drum 13, where again they are tumbled, beaten and conveyed, and finally discharged onto the conveyor belt 22. Preferably the rate at which the laundry articles should be conveyed through the drums is such that the articles will remain in the uppermost drum for the longest period, and in the succeeding lower drums for progressively shorter periods, since the articles, when charged into the uppermost drum, contain the most moisture. The rate of conveying the articles through the drums can be controlled by rotating the drums at different speeds or by modifying the crosssectional taper of the ribs or by modifying the longitudinal taper of the ribs or by any combination of said devices. Throughout the course of their movements through the drums ll, l2 and 13, in addition to being tumbled, beaten and conveyed, the diapers are subjected to the drying influence of the heated air which is continuously being charged into the housing and is circulated therein by the vanes 40 on the drums. In the course of the drying operation considerable vapor is produced and this is continuously withdrawn from the housing through the perforated hollow shafts i4, i5 and I6, and manifold 48. By the time the diapers pass through the machine they are in a thoroughly dry, soft and fluffy condition, in Which they are delivered to the conveyor belt 22, along which operatives are stationed who remove, fold and stack the diapers for packaging.

It will accordingly be appreciated from the foregoing detailed description that I have provided a machine in which diapers and the like can be dried and fluffed in a continuous manner to a condition superior to that obtainable with processes and machines heretofore employed,

and that the machine as described is fully capable of accomplishing all of the objects of the invention set forth in the opening statement of this specification.

It will be understood, however, that while I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention I do not wish to be limited to the number or arrangement of drums within the housing or to the specific details of construction and arrangement of parts as described and illustrated, since these may be varied within the range of engineering skill without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A laundry machine comprising a rotatable open-ended cylindrical drum mounted on a horizontal axis, said drum having on its inner peripheral surface circumferentially spaced, substantially wedge-shaped ribs extending longitudinally of the drum substantially from end to end thereof with the bases of the ribs adjacent the peripheral surface of the drum, said ribs having a greater subtended angle at the charging end of the drum than at the discharging end and being adapted, upon rotation of the drum, to subject laundered articles charged into the charging end of the drum to a tumbling and conveying action through the drum.

2. A laundry machine according to claim 1 wherein the wedge-shaped ribs are also of greater depth at the charging end of the drum than at the discharging end.

MAX TROY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

